NEW ORLEANS -- As the city of New Orleans gears up for President Barack Obama's stop on Thursday, his visit and the 10-year-anniversary of the storm is being met with mixed reaction by Lower Ninth Ward residents.
"Half of the houses are gone from back here. It's just open lots," said Trail Chief James Batiste with the Ninth Ward Hunters.
Blighted homes, overgrown lots and a handful of businesses -- 10 years after the storm, the Lower Ninth Ward still struggles to bounce back.
It's frustrating to Batiste, who moved to the area at 6 years old. The Mardi Gras Indian just turned 59. He survived the storm only to return to a very different place.
"We need police officers to patrol around here. Very few police officers patrol around this area. If we don't watch out for each other around here, they'd be a lot going on," said Batiste.
On the heels of President Obama's visit to New Orleans, he'd like to see more done to bring back new life to the Lower Ninth Ward.
"I'd tell Obama straight up, hey, we need schools. We need a nursing home for the elderly. We need nurseries for the kids. We need grocery stores. We need a credit union back here. We need supermarkets and what use to be around this area," said Batiste.
Some progress has been made here in the Lower 9th Ward, like the $20 million Sanchez Community Center where Obama will mark the 10-year anniversary of Katrina.
"We need neighborhood schools here, we need a grocery store, a major chain grocery store. We need a bank here. We definitely need more street repairs," said Vanessa Gueringer with the Lower 9th Ward chapter of A Community Voice.
Gueringer is frustrated by this year's commemoration of the storm and says it is being hailed by the city of New Orleans as a celebration of recovery, when so much still needs to be done in her backyard.
"There are areas in the city that have recovered and continue to get the attention that we should be getting. For the president to come, I feel for a photo op is insulting to this community that is still very much in need of federal dollars," said Gueringer.
Strong emotions felt by many living in the area who still see on a daily basis the scars and harsh realities left behind by the storm.
"I just want the President to make us whole," added Gueringer.
